Grand Valley Magazine Spring 2015 - (Page 23)

GLOBAL GV Internationalizing campus abroad and at home by Michele Coffill Mahinur Akkaya, from Middle East Technical University in Turkey, talks with chemistry students during her exchange visit in January. photo by Rex Larsen A new campus initiative may make Grand Valley distinctive among its peers and give students an advantage when they search for jobs. Global learning is not a new concept for U.S. colleges and universities. Today's interconnected and diverse world requires workers to have the skills and knowledge needed to operate effectively among different cultures, religions and ethnicities. Grand Valley leaders began exploring how best to make global learning a campus priority three years ago. A task force concluded its work last year and recommended a strategic process to infuse global learning across the undergraduate curriculum. In 1989, a similar recommendation was mandated within the General Education program. Mark Schaub, chief international officer, co-chaired the task force and said talking to university leaders about global learning for all undergraduates was a rather easy sell. Provost Gayle R. Davis approved it last April. "This will make the education that students get at Grand Valley more impactful and more distinctive," Schaub said. "This is years in the making, but it will greatly set undergraduate education at Grand Valley apart from other institutions." Of course, many degree programs already address global learning, whether it means requiring a foreign language for degree completion, or teaching nursing students about patient care in other countries. The next step, Schaub said, is to survey each program to find the level of global learning offered. Carol Sanchez, professor of management and director of international business programs for the Seidman College of Business, also co-chaired the task force. Background photos courtesy of Padnos International Center. www.gvsu.edu 23 Grand Valley Magazine http://www.gvsu.edu

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Grand Valley Magazine Spring 2015

Campus News
Athletics
Donor Impact
Behind the gallery
Beer boom
Reenactment takes center stage in classroom
Global GV
Focal Point
Arts
Sustainability
Q&A Harmon, DesArmo
Off the Path
Research
Alumni News

Grand Valley Magazine Spring 2015